


32

by jesileigh



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Love, Party, Reconciliation, flangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 21:49:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10705821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesileigh/pseuds/jesileigh
Summary: It's Oliver's birthday and, despite his wishes, Felicity won't let it go by without celebrating this year.5x22 spec





	32

Oliver is still a bit miffed that Felicity wouldn’t just leave him alone in the bunker for the evening. She of all people knows how much he wishes he could just skip this day every year. Erase it from the calendar and just pretend it doesn’t exist. Yet despite his best efforts, May 16th still comes and goes each year, and usually his friends and family pretend to forget and he gets through it for one more year.

              Prior to the island, Oliver was the type to celebrate his birthday _month_. Lavish vacations, new cars and expensive toys, extravagant parties that lasted an entire week—all were typical back then. But during his five years away he hadn’t even been able to keep track of the month he was in, let alone the days. So five birthdays came and went. Uncelebrated. Unnoticed. It had been the absolutely least of his concerns. And after five years of not caring, it actually became a preference.

              He’s 32 years old today. And for all of his efforts, Felicity is standing with him outside their— _her_ —apartment, biting her lip in that way she does when she’s nervous. When she has something to tell him that she knows he’s not going to like. Part of him wants to run; to find a hole to hide in until the clock strikes midnight and this day is over. But the other part—the other part feels like his heart could explode from the love and adoration he feels for the woman before him. It’s the only thing that’s keeping him there, staring at her expectantly.

              “So I know you hate celebrating your birthday,” she says, prefacing whatever comes next, and he sighs because he absolutely knows where this is going. “But! Hear me out, okay?” She puts her hands on his shoulders like she’s trying to keep him from running. It’s laughable because there’s no way this petite little blonde genius is ever going to physically restrain him. But because he’s a sucker for Felicity Smoak, forever and always, he stays. Though he does sigh for dramatic effect.

              “Your apartment is full of people right now isn’t it?” he says flatly.

              “Okay. Yes. _But_ ,” she repeats. “Listen.”

              “I’m listening.”

              “I just thought…with everything that’s happened lately…that maybe this would be good for you. Maybe being surrounded by people who love you and care about you would help.” She’s biting her lip again, waiting for his reaction, and he tilts his head at her. Last week they’d spent nearly twelve hours trapped together in an elevator shaft. And, as is common when you’ve got nothing but time and nothing to do but talk, all the things they had been keeping to themselves had bubbled to the surface. He had told her everything. About the things he’d done on the island and in Hong Kong and in Russia. He told her that the things Chase had done to him during the week he’d been missing had been so much worse than the physical injuries he hadn’t allowed her to tend to. And when he’d admitted to her what Adrian Chase had made him realize she hadn’t even flinched. She hadn’t recoiled or run from him. Instead, she’d moved closer, cupped his face in her hands and vehemently insisted that Chase was _wrong_. She had told him how much she loved him, even still. And that she never would have stuck around if she believed for one moment that what Chase had said was true.

              “You’re a good man, Oliver. And you’re a hero to _so_ many people,” Felicity continues, squeezing his arm affectionately. “Including one who just found out how much of a hero you really are,” she adds, a smile slowly taking over her features as she glances behind him. He furrows his brow at her in confusion and she just grins wider, nodding her head towards the hallway behind him. Oliver turns, confused to see what she’s looking at and when he sees who she’s looking at it feels like he’s just been hit with a ton of bricks. Like the air’s all been sucked out of the room at once.

              “ _William_?” he gasps, nearly choking on the name. “What are…I don’t… _how_?!” The boy and his mother are standing nervously before him and he swings around to look at Felicity.

              “Felicity called,” Samantha begins. “She told me about…everything that’s been happening up here and said she wanted to check in on us and make sure we were safe. I told her that I’d watched the video you made for Will when we left. And after we talked for a while, I decided to show it to him. To let him know the truth. I told him how sorry I am for letting my fear get the best of me. I hurt you and Will—and Felicity.” Samantha’s eyes flicker to the other woman in the hallway and Felicity just gnaws on her lower lip and stares at the floor. “I wanted Will to decide for himself how he wanted this to go. And he decided he wanted to move up here. He wants to have you in his life. And I think I owe it both of you. So here we are.”

              Oliver is still gaping at them, and he scrubs a hand over his face, unsure how he’s even breathing or thinking right now. Thankfully his son is a bit more articulate.

              “Are you really the Green Arrow?” William asks, his voice barely a whisper, full of awe and wonder. Oliver barks out a laugh and nods and Will’s face lights up like Christmas. “My dad’s a _superhero_!” he adds, and he can’t hide the excitement in his tone. Oliver’s heart skips several beats at that, and he can’t stop the tears that are welling up in his eyes, or the choked sob that escapes his throat. He covers his mouth with his hand and takes a moment to try and compose himself.

              “You didn’t tell him a thing, did you?” Samantha asks Felicity, and the women share a conspiratorial smile between them. Felicity shakes her head and puts a hesitant hand on Oliver’s back. It grounds him, calms him-- and he can finally get a full breath again when he feels the heat from her palm through his shirt.

              “Hey Felicity, can I play Nintendo again tonight?” Will asks, and Oliver’s back to confusion again at the way he’s acting like he and Felicity already know each other.

              “Of course you can—you know how it works. But you might have more fun meeting some of the people who came for the party,” she tells him knowingly.

              “Why don’t you guys head in and I’ll be right behind you. I just need to talk to Felicity alone for a minute, okay?” Samantha nods and Will heads confidently for the door.

              “I want to hear all about your first day at school,” Felicity tells Will and he grins broadly up at her and nods with enthusiasm.

              “I joined the coding club!” he says, excited, and Felicity’s face lights up with pride.

              “That’s amazing! You’ll have to show me what you’re working on later.” Will leans into her for a hug and she ruffles his hair affectionately before he and Samantha head inside. When she turns back to Oliver she looks almost terrified as she wrings her hands and shuffles from one foot to the other and back again nervously. Finally she blurts out “Are you mad? Please don’t be mad.”

              Oliver just shakes his head, dumbfounded and asks,

              “How on _earth_ could I be mad at you?” Felicity takes a breath and he can tell she is just seconds away from a babble so he intervenes by sweeping her up into his arms and squeezing her as tightly as he can without hurting her. “Felicity…I just…I don’t even know what to say right now.” His emotions, usually under strict control, have completely overwhelmed him again and he’s all but sobbing into her neck as he holds her. “You…I can’t believe my _son_ is here right now. And he knows who I am and actually wants... _God_ , I love you. How are you even real?”

              “You know, usually I’m the one talking in sentence fragments,” she says, her voice muffled because of how her face is buried against his chest. He lets out an appreciative laugh through the tears and holds her even closer, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other spanning the entirety of her back. When he finally lets her go she smiles up at him, almost shyly, and asks,

              “Think you can pull it together enough to go inside? I know how much you’d hate for everyone to know that the big bad vigilante has feelings.” She’s teasing him and he loves it. He loves how normal it feels. The weight of the last year and a half has lifted and he’s got his best friend back.

              “I want you to know that if I wasn’t worried about destroying every boundary we’ve put in place over the last year I would so be kissing you right now,” he admits, his cheeks hurting from the intensity of his smile. She leans in closer, her hands grasping the lapels of his leather jacket, and pushes up on her toes to press a kiss to his jaw.

              “Later,” she whispers against his cheek. “We’ll talk later.”

              For the second time that evening, Oliver is left breathless, his heart beating so hard he feels like it might leave his body. _Later_ isn’t never. _Later_ is a promise. And okay, so maybe birthdays don’t suck.

              Felicity moves to open the door to the loft and pauses, turning back to him.

              “So everyone thinks this is a surprise party—promise me you’ll at least pretend?” Oliver chuckles and nods his assent.

              “I think I can manage that.”

              As it turns out, he doesn’t have to pretend at all. He’s, of course, expecting John, Lyla and Little Sara. Curtis, Rene and Dinah don’t surprise him. Quentin isn’t all that shocking either, but when he walks into the loft and sees Thea and Roy, Rory, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco, and even Sara Lance and Ray Palmer; he is absolutely floored. They all give a hearty “ _Surprise!”_ when he walks in behind Felicity, and he can’t do anything but gape at them and then back at Felicity. Because only she could pull off something like this.

              He spends an hour or so mingling and catching up with the guests, and even Ray Palmer gets an amiable handshake. They sing him Happy Birthday and he cringes the whole time. He blows out the candles and helps Felicity dish it out—he can’t help but chuckle at how Will’s eyes seem to be bigger than his stomach when he chooses the largest piece.  And when things are starting to wind down, Barry quiets the room with a fork on his glass and then looks to Felicity who nods.

              “I’d like to make a toast,” Barry begins. “Oliver, when I woke up with my powers I came to you first. I wanted to be a hero, like you. To protect my city the way you do. I know I wasn’t the most cooperative student, but you still did your best to help me when I needed it. Likewise, you’ve been a teacher and a mentor to pretty much everyone in this room who considers themselves a hero. You taught us discipline and resilience and to fight with our hearts and not just our fists. You’ve taught us what it means to be a leader. That it takes sacrifice and courage and that above all it means putting others first. And although your methods can be a bit unorthodox—Rene and Roy will back me up on this—“ the room all laughs and Oliver shrugs sheepishly. “Not one of us would be the heroes we are today if you hadn’t done it first. And our teams wouldn’t be as strong as they are if we hadn’t had Team Arrow to aspire to. So thank you for everything—to Oliver!”

              The rest of the room raises their glasses and echoes the sentiment before drinking to him. For the third time in one night Oliver is choked up to the point of speechlessness, so he just raises his glass to Barry and smiles.

              The crowd begins to thin as people head out for the evening. Oliver makes plans to see a baseball game with Will the next day as well as dinner plans with Thea and Roy. He even gives Barry a hug without being asked, catching the speedster off-guard entirely. The guests have dwindled until it’s just the newbies left, and Felicity finds him on the balcony, taking a quiet moment to himself.

              “Hey,” she says softly, leaning on the railing next to him. “You okay?”

              “Just thinking,” he assures her. She leans into him, her head resting on his arm.

              “Uh-oh. That’s usually Oliver-talk for brooding. Are you brooding?” Oliver smiles down at her and shakes his head.

              “Happy thinking,” he clarifies. “I promise.”

              “Well that was quite a speech Barry made in there,” she says thoughtfully.

              “Did you tell him? About Chase?”

              “No. That’s not my secret to tell,” Felicity says. “I just let him know you’ve been having a hard time lately with seeing what a difference you’re making in the world. And since John and I couldn’t get through to you, I thought maybe a room full of your world-saving protégés might help get the message across.” Oliver gives a soft laugh and Felicity wraps her arms around his bicep and nuzzles his arm.

               “You told me once that I don’t know how to depend on anyone. That I’d always revert to that man who did everything alone. And I believed for so long that I _had_ to be alone. That it was the only way because I was so broken and so damaged. But you…you made me want things I never thought I’d be able to have. You gave me my humanity back, Felicity and I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”

              Felicity is looking at him with the same intense look she’d had on her face while they were trapped in the elevator the week before. A tear escapes the corner of her eye and rolls down her cheek and Oliver reaches out to wipe it away with his thumb before he pulls her in close and she rests her head on his chest.

              “I’m trying,” he finally continues, and Felicity looks up at him in question. “I’m trying to be more trusting. More open. To ask for help when I need it—“

              “I know,” Felicity murmurs. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Although you maybe let the pendulum swing a bit too far in the other direction with Susan,” she adds and Oliver chuckles at that.

              “Yeah, not my best decision,” he agrees. “I still don’t know what I was thinking there.”

              “You were lonely,” Felicity says. “You thought you’d feel better if you could convince yourself you were moving on. I did the same thing.” Oliver nods and buries his nose in Felicity’s hair—it’s down and curly and it smells exactly as it always has.

              “I just want to look in the mirror someday and see what you see when you look at me,” Oliver admits. “I want to be worthy of that.”

              “Oh, Oliver,” Felicity sighs, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. “You already _are_. That’s what I keep trying to tell you. You’re a good man. I wouldn’t be here fighting alongside you if I didn’t believe that with everything in me.” She holds his gaze, daring him to argue, and he leans in to plant a kiss on her forehead, reveling in the way she melts into him. “I love you,” she whispers, and his heart skips a beat, that choked up feeling returning once again.

              “I love you too,” he replies. “More than you’ll ever know.” She pushes up on her toes to reach for him and he meets her halfway. Her lips are soft and gentle, and he tries to convey everything he needs her to know in that kiss. Their first in nearly a year. His fingers slip through her curls, cupping the back of her head to draw her closer and hers grasp at his jacket. For a moment, everything fades away but them—the din of the city below is silenced and all he can hear is his heartbeat in his ears and the sigh she gives when he pulls away. It’s just like their first kiss all over again the way they linger, breathing each other’s air and unwilling to open their eyes and end the moment.

              It’s the eruption of cheers and clapping that finally brings them back to earth and they turn to see Dinah, Rene, Curtis and Rory at the window, high-fiving each other. Oliver laughs as Felicity buries her face in his chest, embarrassed, and he takes great delight at shooing the team out of the apartment. He then takes Felicity upstairs to _their_ bed and ends his birthday celebration in the best way possible—in the arms of the love of his life.


End file.
